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The adopted citizen of the Republic yields to none in 
patriotic devotion to the flag. 



SPEECHES 



Hon. Richard Bartholdt 



OK jSIISSOURI, 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



Friday, March 2S, 1898, 



Friday, January 7, 1898. 



WASHINGTON- 
1898. 






72061 



Naval Appropriation Bill. 






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^ SPEECH 

». OF 

HON. lUOHAED BARTHOLDT, 

OP MISSSOURI, 

In the House of Eepkesentatives, 

Friday, March 25, 1S9S. 

The House being in Committee of the "Whole on the state of the Union, 
and having under consideration the bill (H. R. 9378) making appropriations 
for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, and for other 
purposes — 

Mr. BARTHOLDT said: 

Mr. Chairman: When, a few weeks ago, Congress nnanimously 
voted to place $50,000,000 at the disposal of the President for na- 
tional defense, the American people rejoiced, and the nations of 
the world stood dumfounded and spellbound. Such an inspiring 
spectacle of political unanimity, such a ready subordination of 
historical or party differences to the common cause of the nation, 
such a display of genuine patriotism, had never been witnessed 
either here or elsewhere, either in this age or any other. It was 
the God-like voice of a reunited people proclaiming American 
power, national unity, and the triumphant success of popular 
self-government. [Applause.] 

In order to lessen the effect of that historical vote, to break the 
spell, European and particularly Spanish newspapers have seen 
fit, in a vain attempt to comfort their readers, to point to the va- 
riety of races and nationalijiies living in the United States, whose 
very presence, they iiriagiiie, justifies the conclusion that our 
boasted unanimity and' harmony do not really exist, but are only 
perfunctory and skin-deep. One Spanish diplomat even went so 
far as to assert in so many words that in a war with any European 
power the adopted citizens of this country would be found to be 
a weak spot in Uncle Sam's armor. It is on this point, Mr. Chair- 
man, tliat I crave the opportunity to say a few words. 

I am loath to treat these aspersions seriously and would prefer to 
offer them up as a ridiculous contribution to the gaiety, not of 
mtions but of the American people, were it not for the fact that 

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iii this rot is finding a sporadic echo and reecho among a class of 

^ people here who imagine themselves to possess an exclusive patent 

upon loyalty and patriotism and never tire in drawing invidious 
distinctions between native and adopted citizens of the Ufii.ted 
States. Nothing, in my jiidgment, can be more unseasonable th^n 
to accentuate such differences now, and I can not imagine a more ' 
propitious time than the present to advocate the cause and spirit 
of true fraternity. 

The other day when we had the $30,000,000 bill under consider- 
ation, and when we heard so much truly patriotic talk, I sat si- 
lently in my seat thinking that my vote would, perhaps, be the 
r most eloquent speech I could make on the subject. But ever since 

that time I have patiently waited for some one to rise in his seat, 
not himself an adopted citizen, who would feel called upon to do 
justice to the true sentiments of that numerous element of our 
population which has become part and parcel of our body politic 
through the process of naturalization. 

Somehow I felt that these people had a right to expect such vindi- 
cation, and really there is none of us too great to do them rever- 
ence. There is not a man on this floor who does not represent 
some of them, and who does not know that they bled upon every 
American battlefield from Lexington to Appomattox. Yet noth- 
ing has as yet been said on this floor to refute the implied slanders 
of these foreign editors and their native echoes. 

We are apt to regard the theory of the brotherhood of man as a 
beautiful dream hardly to be realized; but in tempests on the 
ocean, in the face of a common danger, I have seen that fraternal 
spirit manifested in a way which would have gladdened the heart 
of the most orthodox of Christians. So, in the face of the present 
great emergency, I may be pardoned for saying it myself, for say- 
ing it in behalf of the adopted citizens of our country, that they 
are no longer English, German, Irish, Scandinavian— that they are 
nothing if not, one and all, heart and soul, Americans! [Applause. J 

I have the honor, and have had for the last six years, of represent- 
ing a district 75 per cent of whose population is German-born or of 
German extraction. It is a veritable Gibraltar of patriotism— so 
much so that I invite comparison. I challenge anyone to point 
out a spot in the United States, and I care not where you go, 
either to Puritan New England, or the Cavalier States of the 
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South, or the pioneer country of the far and omnivorous West, 
where you can find more genuine loyalty, more faithful devotion 
to the flag, more honest love of country, than in the Tenth district 
of Missouri, with its preponderance of German- American voters. 

It was due to the loyalty of the older men of that district that 
Missouri was saved to the Union, and to-day nowhere in the 
country would the call of the President for voltmteers to defend 
the flag meet with a more enthusiastic response than in the heart 
of the territory which embraces South St. Louis and stretches all 
around the great metropolis of the Mississippi Valley and touches, 
both north and south of it, the "Father of Waters." 

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman's time has expired. 

Mr. BARTHOLDT. I should like to have about five minutes 
more. 

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Missouri asks unani- 
mous consent for an extension of his time for five minutes. Is 
there objection? (After a pause.) The chair hears none. 

Mr. BARTHOLDT. But it is not for my district alone that I 
desire to speak on this occasion. I know I voice the sentiments of 
every German- American in the country when I say. For America — 
America against England, America against Spain, America against 
Germany, America against the world, America right or wrong, 
always for Americal [Applause.] 

This is not brag and bluster, Mr. Chairman. All I have to do 
in corroboration of this sentiment is to refer to American history. 
These adopted citizens may, as a prominent German- American of 
this city has recently expressed it, speak their native tongue, as 
did the heroes of Camp Jackson, may sing the songs of the Father- 
land, read the poems of their immortal poets, enjoy the paintings 
of their artists, may admire the philosophy of Humboldt and the 
statesmanship of Bismarck, but when it comes to the question on 
which side they will fight, if that question should ever be seriously 
asked, you will find them, where they ever have been found, march- 
ing under the Stars and Stripes to the inspiring tune of Yankee 
Doodle, doing their patriotic duty as brave and consistent Ameri- 
can citizens toward the country of their choice. [Api^lause.] 

Mr. (tAINES. They will march under the tune of Dixie as 
well. 

Mr. BARTHOLDT. I accept the amendment of the gentleman 

31 G8 



from Tennessee, because the tunes of Dixie and Yankee Doodle 
have recently been blended, and the combined harmony is grander. 
[Applause.] 

They claim no superiority over others, but yield to none in pa- 
triotic devotion to the Government and the flag, and therefore have 
a right to resent any and all discriminations on account of their 
birthplace. They have come from love of liberty and a praise- 
worthy desire to better their condition, and have identified them- 
selves for good with our institutions and destinies. They live and 
die, love and hate, and fight as Americans. The United States is 
their and their children's country and the Star Spangled Banner 
their only flag. 

In the present emergency they do not wish for war, but they do 
not wish peace either if it can not be preserved honorably. They 
are calm, quiet, conservative, but also quick to respond to their 
country's call; ready to shed their lifeblood for what the Presi- 
dent and Congress should proclaim to be America's cause. So let 
us hear no more of such distinctions and discriminations between 
the citizens of our country! 

I thank my colleague for having yielded to me, and I thank the 
House for its attention. [Applause.] 



Honor to Whom Honor is Due. 



SPEECH 

OF 

HON. RICHARD BARTHOLDT, 

OF MISSOURI, 

In the House of Bepeesentatives, 

FHday, January 7, 1S9S. 
The House being in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and 
having under consideration the bill (H. E. 4751) making appropriations for 
the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, and for other purposes- 
Mr. BARTHOLDT said: 

Mr. Chairman: I have applauded ranch of what fhe distin- 
guished gentleman from Ohio [General Grosvenor] said yes- 
terday when he pointed out the wrongs connected with the 
present civil-service system, and, as an honest advocate of ti^e 
principles underlying that system, I am willing to go a great 

3168 



way with the gentleman in the direction of a radical improve- 
ment of the law and the correction of the notorious abuses com- 
plained of. But I desire first to enter my emphatic protest 
against the unwarrantable assaults made by the same gentleman 
on the personal character of the President of the Civil Service 
Reform League, Hon. Carl Schurz. Whatever his provocation, he 
should have remembered, especially at this moment, when he is en- 
deavoring to convince members of the righteousness of his cause, 
that slander is no argument. The good cause of an improvement 
of the law and of its methods of administration is much stronger 
than might be inferred from the vituperative language of my 
friend from Ohio, who has clearly weakened his position by his 
personal attacks on one who, to say the least, sincerely believes in 
the wisdom as well as efficacy of the present civil-service system. 

I do not think Carl Schurz needs a defense at my hands, but he 
is now a i^rivate citizen, and as such is at a disadvantage in any 
defense he may see fit to make against the attack of General 
G-ROSVENOR. This is the reason why I take the floor at this time, 
which otherwise I should not have thought of doing. Whatever 
may be said about Carl Schurz, his public record and career, the 
onlj' just pretext, or even the only just ground, for attack upon 
him is a possible difference of opinion between him and those who 
criticise him. But up to this time no man, as far as I know, has 
ever dared to assail his private character or question his personal 
honesty and integrity. As much as many of his countrymen may 
differ from him politically, to them and to the nation he has always 
presented the majestic figure of an honest man. 

My friend from Ohio must place a very low estimate upon the 

moral susceptibilities of the German-Americans if he imagines 

that Mr. Schurz could have retained their respect so long if the 

least stain attached to his character, or if, as the gentleman from 

Ohio puts it, "no point could be found in the trail of his political 

history which was not tainted with political corruption." The 

very thought is an insult to that element which knows him best 

and is best acquainted with every step in his political career. The 

worst that can bo charged against Carl Schurz is his peculiarity 

of a certain independence of judgment which is incompatible with 

party discipline. 
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But this independence in political affairs is characteristic of his 
nationality, and history bears me otit when I say that as a nation 
we have not felt the worse for it. His very first public act was 
one of daring independence. When yet a student and hardly cS 
age, he liberated his teacher, Professor Kinkel, who had been 
incarcerated for his participation in the revolutionary movement 
whose object was to abolish the monai'chy and to establish Amer- 
ican institutions in the Fatherland. This brought young Schurz 
to the United States. Since that time — that is, for nearly a half a 
century — he has been an American citizen, and as such has taken 
a most active and prominent part in public affairs. 

When the war broke out he took up arms for the Union, and 
his military career was as successful as it was honorable. Upon 
his return to Missouri he was instrumental in securing the reen- 
f ranchisement of those who, because of their sympathies with the 
South, had been deprived of their citizens' rights. He then be- 
came United States Senator, minister to Spain, and a member of 
the Cabinet of President Hayes, and while often criticised— like 
every public man is criticised— none of his most spiteful def amers 
ever went so far as to charge him with corruption. His record is 
an open book, the most important periods of his eventful life are 
within the memory of nearly every member of this body, and I 
challenge anyone to point out a single official act in his career as 
general, as Senator, as minister, or as Secretary of the Interior 
that is not characterized by sincerity and honesty of purpose. If \\ 
his ofBcial life teaches a lesson at all, it proves that it is possible i\ 
to stay in American public life for a generation and yet remain an 
honest man. [Applause.] 

He should have remained with the Republican party, it is said. 
So say I; but to question his sincerity when in 1873 he joined the 
liberal movement, and when in 1884 his free-trade proclivities led 
him into the Democratic camp, would be as unjust as to charge 
the Democrats who could not swallow the IG to 1 pill with cor- 
ruption. I am a party man, and believe in the individual subordi- 
nating his views as to minor details and side issues to those of the 
majority of the party. We all have to do that from time to time 
if we would maintain party organization. But when vital inter- 
ests are at stake, when in a national campaiga the people are called 
upon to decide one great issue, then a citizen merely does his duty 

3168 



LIBKHKY Vh CONOKtbb 



X >^|!^/ 013 902 276 2 




by liis country and exercises his right of American citizenship 
when he votes in accordance with his own honest convictions. 
This is all Carl Schurz has done, and while 1 deplore his desertion 
from our ranks, I respect him more for having drawn the logical 
consequences of his political beliefs than if he had remained in 
the party, a dangerous dissenter in its ranks. 

It is impossible in the short space of time allotted to me to do 
full justice to that great American statesman. As an original 
abolitionist, he stood at the cradle of the Republican party. As an 
orator of marked ability, he lent his great influence to the cause 
of Lincoln and the Union. He fought bravely for his country, 
and af teiShe war devoted himself unselfishly to the task of popu- 
larizing Republican principles. As Secretary of the Interior he 
distinguished himself by his recommendations for the education 
of Indian children and for the allotment of their land in severalty, 
as also by his practical suggestions for the rational protection of 
our forests (and of this movement he is the unquestioned pioneer 
of the country), and as a private citizen he has for many years 
been advocating, by word of mouth and pen, and devoting his 
time and energy to the promotion of tlie patriotic causa of inter- 
national peace and of civil-service reform. 

As a loyal American citizen he has demonstrated in the political 
arena, as well as in literature and in war, his extraordinary tal- 
ents and rare ability, and, above all, his faithful and unselfish de- 
votion to the best interests of his adopted country. He is now 
enjoying the evening of his life. We can justly say of him, "He 
has made his mark," and no amount of traducement can lessen 
the esteem in which he is held by a vast majority of the American 
people. [Applause on the Republican side.] 

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